


Chance Encounters

by BardofHeartDive



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Don't Try This At Home, F/M, Mass Effect 2: Arrival, Medical Procedures, Pre-Mass Effect 1, Rare Pairings, Spoilers for Arrival DLC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 04:39:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8564428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardofHeartDive/pseuds/BardofHeartDive
Summary: I would like to thank the incredible Potionsmaster for her beta-reading, encouragement, title granting, and occasional butt-kicking. This story is better for her work with it.I would also like to thank the fantastic AzzyDarling for organizing this ficswap and, in doing so, bringing so many wonderful writers together. Thank you for putting in the time and effort to make this happen. We appreciate you!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThreeWhiskeyLunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeWhiskeyLunch/gifts).



> I would like to thank the incredible Potionsmaster for her beta-reading, encouragement, title granting, and occasional butt-kicking. This story is better for her work with it.
> 
> I would also like to thank the fantastic AzzyDarling for organizing this ficswap and, in doing so, bringing so many wonderful writers together. Thank you for putting in the time and effort to make this happen. We appreciate you!

Karin wasn’t sure whether she heard the gunshot or saw the man collapse first. She was surprised to find that her first instinct was to run toward him but with Deni clutching her arm and Adelle set firmly in front of her it didn’t happen. 

The marines, however, immediately burst into action. One dragged the wounded man further into the dining room while the rest advanced into the hall, pressed against the walls, guns drawn. They were barking back and forth to each other and then, clear above the other noise, someone yelled, “Grenade!” It bounced through the door and exploded about four feet from the two soldiers, knocking the uninjured man off his feet and blasting them both away. Furniture went flying and a chair bounced off the corner of the bar just inches from Adelle. The impact cracked the wood.

The squad leader was yelling, “Murphy, get the door!”

“But Fields and - ”

“Those are fucking civilians, Murphy!” she snapped back. “Shut the goddamn door!”

That seemed the win the man over. The doors slid shut and a second later the lock flashed from green to red. They could still hear the gunfire, explosions, and yelling outside but inside there was only stunned silence. 

Karin pulled out of Deni’s grip and pushed passed Adelle.

“Where are you going?” Deni hissed.

“They might need a doctor,” she answered.

There was nothing she could do for the closer soldier, the one who had been shot. There was a spiderweb of cracks on his faceplate, all surrounding a hole no bigger than a pea. The actual puncture wound, just above his left eye, was also about that size but there were extensive burns covering the entire side of his face, most of it down to the bone. She closed his left eye, then made her way to other soldier. He was lying face down but when she got close enough she realized that he was breathing in quick, shallow gasps.

“Deni!” she called. “Adelle! He’s alive! Come here; help me roll him!”

* * *

Steven couldn’t figure out what was making that obnoxious wheezing. Everything else was muffled, like it was coming through water, but that was clear and surprisingly close. For some reason he couldn’t place, he knew he needed to find it and fix it but it felt like he was moving through molasses. And he couldn’t catch his breath. 

God, what the hell was that sound?

He rolled over, though he didn’t think he’d done it himself, and saw a face. Well, he thought it was a face. It kept sliding in and out of focus, so he couldn’t quite put the whole thing together. An arch of brown eyebrow. A strip of cheek. The corner of a mouth. It turned to the side and he caught the sharp profile of a nose. The lips were moving, though he couldn’t make out the words or even the voice.

Maybe the face had found the noise.

* * *

In the end, she needed not only Deni and Adelle but also the bartender and another man to roll the soldier. One look was all Karin needed to know he was in bad shape. She saw the blood first, most of the lower half of his face was covered in it, but his breathing worried her most. Even without a proper count she could tell it was too fast and his lips were turning dusky. The grenade had hit him on the right and his chestplate was cracked and dented on that side.

She turned to Adelle and said, “We have to get his armor off.”

It took longer than she liked. None of them had seen an Alliance hardsuit in person and certainly never taken one off a person. There were seemingly endless clasps and locks and his lips were getting bluer by the second. But eventually they got the plates off, only to find the undersuit. The bartender brought knives from the kitchen and they part cut, part tore it off him.

They only needed to expose his neck for Karin to have an idea what was going on, though her suspicion was especially concerning. His windpipe was shifted to the left and his pulse, though palpable, was fast, weak, and thready. Any doubts she had disappeared when she got a look at his chest. An ugly purple-red bruise was already forming, covering his right side all the way down to his waist. That side of his chest was also fully expanded but barely moved when he gasped to breathe. 

“Okay, I need . . . ” 

What she needed was an OR, supplies for chest tube including a one-way valve, and imaging to verify placement. None of which she would get before the man died.

She took a paring knife from where it had been discarded with the scraps of his undersuit and gingerly touched the tip. No scalpel, but it was sharp. She laughed in disbelief that she would even think such a thing.

“I need a tube. Stronger than a straw would be ideal but it’ll do if there’s nothing else. Also, pair of gloves and hand sanitizer if you have it.”

A moment later, the bartender set down everything she’d asked for, then offered her a small, metal pour spout. 

“What about this?” he asked. When she just looked at it he added, “It’s clean.”

That made her laugh again and she took it from him. Then she said, “One more thing. I need you to hold him down.”

The bartender paled but gave a weak nod. He and the other man each took a leg, Deni and Adelle took an arm, and Karin settled at his side. She smeared the hand sanitizer on his chest and her hands, pulled on the gloves, and rested the tip of the knife against his skin. She pushed just hard enough to draw blood and the sight of it almost made her stop. But then she looked at his face and watched as his eyes focused on hers. In an instant they went from empty to intense. It steeled her in a way she didn’t quite understand and she pushed in the knife until she was rewarded with a rush of air.

And through the whole thing the man didn’t make a sound but his eyes never left hers.

* * *

A weight suddenly lifted off his chest and Steven was able to wonder why it was still getting harder to breathe. Maybe because it wasn’t gone, just moved to his arms and legs. He thought they were heavier anyway. He couldn’t really feel them so he wasn’t entirely sure.

At least that awful gasping had stopped.

There was something cold on his chest. He wanted to see what it was but he couldn’t control what he was looking at. Light and shadows shifted through his vision, shapes dissolving and reforming like clouds in the wind.

And then there were eyes. An angelic pair of sea-green eyes looking at him and in a flash of clarity he knew that she was going to save him. Everything would be alright as long as he held her eyes. They would keep him in this world or lead him into the next and either way he would stay with her.

Then his lungs caught fire and he took a full breath.

The angel smiled and the world went dark.

* * *

Steven was hoping for the angel’s eyes when his opened but all he got was the gray ceiling of the ship’s medbay. He tried to sit up but couldn’t manage it until Dr. Thatcher reached behind his shoulders and helped.

“Good to have you back, Hackett,” the doctor said.

“Good to be back. Where are we?”

“En route to Jump Zero. Still a ways out. Any pain?”

“Nothing bad,” he answered. “I don’t want anything for it.” His hand went the bandages on and under his right collarbone. “There was a woman. She - ”

“She saved your life,” Dr. Thatcher finished for him. He picked up a specimen jar with a pour spout in it and shook his head and added, “Though I’m afraid it is going to scar.”

“Can I talk to her?”

“Unfortunately, no. We dropped the civilians off almost an hour ago.”

“An hour? How long have I been out?”

“Two plus the time on the ground.” The thought of that made his head spin and when he didn’t immediately respond, Dr. Thatcher continued. “She stayed with you the whole time. Sat right in that chair, holding your hand.”

“What about her name? Did she tell you her name?”

Thatcher chuckled to himself, though it was a sound of surprise more than amusement. “You know, she didn’t. I didn’t think to ask. To be honest, I thought you knew her.”

“I . . . no. Not really.”

“Huh.” The doctor let his shrug hang in the air until he knew Steven didn’t want to say any more about it, then brought up a medical scanner on his omni-tool and continued his assessment. “Tell me the name of the ship we’re on and who the captain is.”

* * *

Hackett lingered in medbay even after Shepard left. His staff would assume he just wanted a moment of peace before having to deal with ramifications of the destruction of the relay. In truth he was hoping to see the ship’s doctor one more time. He had just given up and was heading for the door when she came hurrying in.

She stopped short when she saw him, obviously surprised, though he couldn’t tell if the undertones were relief or disappointment. She said, “You’re still here.”

Somewhere in all the years her hair had gone from auburn to gray but her eyes were still as green and he could still get lost in them.

“I was just leaving,” he answered, “but I am glad I got to see you again.”

“Steven . . .”

How many times had they had this argument, he wondered. Too many to count and the worst part of it was they both knew how it would end every time. Because their work in the Alliance would always be their first love and, when all was said and done, they respected each other more than they wanted to be together. It went back and forth, who wanted to give it a try and who remained the voice of reason, but they always filled both roles. 

Apparently it was his turn to be firm this time, so he saluted her, adding “Dr. Chakwas,” before continuing toward the door.

“Steven, wait! Please.”

It was the “please” that kept him from leaving. Once, a very long time ago, his resolve had nearly faltered and he had told her that all she had to do was ask.

“This is a Cerberus vessel,” Karin said, taking a half-step closer to him. “The Alliance doesn’t exist here. Not tonight. Please stay.”

And this time when she touched his chest just below the collarbone, tracing the edges of his scar from memory, he covered her hand with his. 


End file.
